


Sword of Sothis

by IAmTheWinterAssassin



Category: Fire Emblem Series, Fire Emblem: Fuukasetsugetsu | Fire Emblem: Three Houses
Genre: Angst and Hurt/Comfort, Azure Moon Path, Battle, Gen, Implied Relationships, Loss of Limbs, Post-Time Skip, Rewind? They ran out idk, Swordfighting, They/Them Byleth, They/Them Pronouns for My Unit | Byleth, Umi Eisner, post-time skip Dimitri, u - Freeform
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-05-28
Updated: 2020-05-28
Packaged: 2021-03-03 03:20:19
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,577
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/24418015
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/IAmTheWinterAssassin/pseuds/IAmTheWinterAssassin
Summary: A brutal battle on the road leads to a life changing event...
Relationships: Dimitri Alexandre Blaiddyd/My Unit | Byleth
Kudos: 4





	Sword of Sothis

Not all of the battles were grand feats of tactical brilliance. Sometimes, most times, they were bloody and brutal examples of human barbarism. This battle wasn’t special in that sense, no, U’umi had seen many a skirmish like this one before, as a mercenary, as a professor, and now as a General. They were at the head of the pride, this wasn’t unusual either for the Blue Lions, what was unusual however was the inhuman strength the opponents seemed to possess. They fought with vicious accuracy, and it had become abundantly clear that Edelgard hadn’t just sent them a battalion of pawns to face. Umi’s arms ached with exertion, catching their breath as they had felled an axe wielding soldier they searched the small battlefield. It was a small bare piece of land cut through by a well ridden path that eventually snaked its way into a heavily wooded forest. It was supposed to be their resting ground for the night, but as they had neared the wall of trees men had appeared in Imperial armor and bearing the empire’s banner. There had been little time to realize what was happening much less strategize before the forces were upon them. Umi’s students, now full grown adults, had leapt into combat beside them, but now all they could see was conflict.  
Umi spotted Flayn, her small stature making her seem like a child compared to the soldiers that surrounded her. She helped a Kingdom soldier up, her hands glowing a soft gold as she did so, the man’s stiff shoulders dropping ever so slightly as she did. Flayn was a gifted healer, and while Umi shared Seteth’s worry about her on a battlefield, she had still proven to be vital in a fight such as this one. It was then Umi saw him, out of the corner of their eye was an Imperial warrior, wielding a hefty battle axe as he stormed towards the small gathering of Kingdom soldiers and Flayn. Umi’s feet pounded across the hard earth that hadn’t had time to thaw from the frigid winter. They brought a strike down across the soldier’s shoulders, catching only plating and leather, but it was enough to get his attention. 

He was nearly a head or so taller than Umi, muscle built across his shoulders and back, strapped in leather and iron, he was faceless save for the mouth of grit teeth that showed beneath his horned helm. They took a step back, studying his movement, but as he turned his attention on them, he attacked with a flurry of blows with his axe. They needed to make room to strike, but as they parried the ever moving axe they could feel the steel in their palms shutter over and over again, worse with each hit. The warrior pushed forward and Umi finally saw their opening, he needed room to grow momentum, and so they rushed without another thought, shortening the distance between the two of them. They deflected the blade as it came down, sliding off the hand guard with gravity as all momentum was lost with the distance. They shoved their pommel up into the warrior’s teeth, knocking him off balance and staggering him a few steps. Umi raised their sword to the sky, bringing it down only to realize the warrior wasn’t blocking. He was taking the opportunity to get in another hit, something any self-preserving soldier wouldn’t do, it forced them to parry instead of strike, and in turn their own momentum was thrown off. 

The next blow came like a lightning bolt, straight overhead, Umi flattening their blade against their palm in order to stop from being cleaved in two. Their ears rang with the sound of metal on metal as they fought the massive weight, arms shaking as sweat dripped into their eyes. They felt the weight lift but it was only a brief reprieve as the axe came down again. This time there was a high pitched screech of metal snapping, and for a moment, Umi could see their reflection in the blade of the axe as it swung downwards past their head. 

It was so fast, so clean, that they barely registered what had happened. Their ears were ringing, and the chaos of the battlefield seemed to shutter and distort behind the helmed warrior. There was blood on his axe, their blood, and only then did they realize they were falling. They felt the cold earth meet the back of their head as they squinted into the sun, trying desperately to find air, but it felt like their lungs had forgotten how to draw breath. They could see the shape of horns however, towering above them, then a crushing weight on their chest. He was stepping on them, pressing down with a dirt crushed heel as they wheezed, their hand coming up to try and wrench him off, but their muscles felt like jelly beneath their skin. He raised his axe in the air, a victorious grin on his lips and for a moment Umi said their apologies, their farewells. Sothis, Jeralt, my students, Dimitri, Rhea, goodbye, goodbye, and I’m sorry. 

There was a flash of blue then, it was like the wing of a bird as it spun in the air over them. They followed the streak of blue, a lance beneath it, the blade burying itself into the warrior’s chest before retracting. It was then that everything came rushing back, air filled their lungs, the sound of conflict in the distance grew into a roar in their ears, and then there was the burning. Despite the fresh chill of early spring and the frozen earth beneath them, they felt as if their entire left side had been set alight. They heard a screaming, high and clear in their ears as they tried to grasp at their side, but again their arms felt heavy and slow. 

“Umi! Umi look at me.” The voice was familiar, comforting even despite the way it trembled. 

They felt two gloved hands and finally they saw him, a mess of blond and a piercing blue eye beneath it, only this time it was wide and anxious. It was then they realized that the person screaming was them as their lungs ached for air. They gasped, the action sending a bolt of pain through their body. They sputtered and coughed, groping their side, struggling away from the hands that held them, trying to see what wound they had been dealt. 

“No, no, just look at me okay?” Dimitri’s voice was raspy, like he was trying to catch his breath. 

“Just look at me.”

“Professor!” The voice was high and distant in their ears as they tried to search Dimitri’s expression for answers to what was causing so much pain. 

“Flayn, come here! Sylvain, ride to Mercedes, tell her the professor is hurt,” he barked orders like a true king, but there was something in his voice that still spoke of the prince they had sparred with in the training yard. 

It’s then they saw the blood on his armor, slick red over black on his arm, before it disappeared out of view beside them, and once more they were urged to keep their eyes on him. Had he been hit? Was he injured? They wanted to reach out and take his hand, to pull it into view, but their left arm wasn’t responding and the burning was growing worse, so hot it was almost cold. They opened their mouth to speak, but all that came out was a pained gasp. They could smell the worn leather of his gloves on their cheek, and the sweet smell of dirt, their head swam as the world seemed to converge on them. The screaming, the clanging, the roar of a hundred soldiers fighting, the smells, the taste of copper in their mouth, it mixed and became sour in their stomach, they felt like they were going to retch. And they did, they turned suddenly, body involuntarily twisting on the ground as they vomited onto the cold earth. They felt hands on the back of their neck and in their hair, supporting them as they emptied their stomach, once all of the contents had been spilled their eyes cleared of tears and they could see it. It laid a few feet beside them, so covered in blood it looked like a fallen branch, but they recognized their armor, their gauntlet with their crest welded onto the back of the hand. 

“My—“ they stammered, choking on air as they were rolled over onto their back once more. 

“Flayn?” Dimitri looked away from them, his face no longer holding strong, he looked frantic now. 

“I’m trying,” her voice came from above them. 

They felt the burning cool, but only vaguely, the thrum of heat still throbbed beneath their armor. 

“It’s too deep, I can only do so much,” she cried, her voice breaking. 

“It’s okay, it’s okay,” Dimitri repeated, reaching out to her and once again they could see the blood that smeared his armor. 

“Arm,” they managed to choke out, but even as they did so they felt themself spinning. 

Dimitri returned his gaze to them, he was saying something, but they could only see his mouth moving. They felt like they were falling, or rather like the world was floating away from them. They reached out, but their body didn’t respond, instead they were swallowed by a sudden darkness.

**Author's Note:**

> Thank you for reading! I am very proud of this small snippet of work!


End file.
